Luke 2:48-52 -- On Being Empathetic and Subject to Others

"And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."
Luke 2:48-52


This is the end of the story of Jesus being left behind / purposely staying behind after the feast of the passover when he was twelve. I like it because it shows something that we all need to learn, which is to be emotionally aware of others, and also subject to others when needed. Neither of those are very fun lessons, but being aware of how we affect others, and how cooperation helps our society and world can both be very helpful.

Obviously that doesn't mean that we can't question unjust things, but learning humility is important, and good for us, even though it is hard. I think for Christ perhaps it was even harder, because his earthly parents didn't really understand his heavenly mission well enough to give him the latitude that he needed, but he was subject to them anyway, and learned better how to serve both them and God.

Today, let's work hard to understand, help, and cooperate with the people around us, especially those who have authority over us. It can grate sometimes, but it can also help the world work... and when we have authority over others, let's be really careful to be kind and understanding and to listen. And let's work to increase in favor with God and man as well, as we work to do good and uplift within our roles and callings.